Soundgarden

Soundgarden will release their three-disc rarities collection next month.

Titled Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path, it launches on November 24 and features seven unreleased tracks along with new song 'Storm'. Also included in the set are B-sides, instrumentals, covers and demos – all of which have been pulled together by guitarist Kim Thayil.

He says: “As album sets go, this one has been fun to collect and compile over the decades. I personally may have referenced this project a number of times over the years, going back almost 20 of them to the mid-Nineties.”

The package has been designed by Josh Graham, with each disc featuring its own artwork, booklet and inserts.

Disc One titled Originals features mainly B-sides along with unreleased tracks 'Kristi' and 'Storm'. Covers is the second disc, with the band showcasing songs from artists such as The Doors, The Rolling Stones and Ramones. Disc three is titled Oddities and contains instrumentals, demos and remixes. Included is the track 'Night Surf', an instrumental performed by bassist Ben Shepherd.

Echo Of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across The Path is available to pre-order from Soundgarden’s official site.

Tracklist
Disc 1
Originals
Sub Pop Rock City
Toy Box
Heretic
Fresh Deadly Roses
HIV Baby
Cold Bitch
Show Me
She’s  A Politician
Birth Ritual
She Likes Surprises
Kyle Petty, Son Of Richard
Exit Stonehenge
Blind Dogs
Bleed Together
Black Rain
Live To Rise
Kristi
Storm

Disc 2
Covers
Swallow My Pride
Smokestack Lightnin’
Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
Thank You
Come Together
Stray Cat Blues
Into The Void
Girl U Want
Touch Me
Can You See Me?
Homicidal Suicidal
I Can’t Give You Anything
I Don’t Care About You
Waiting For The Sun
Search And Destroy
Big Bottom
Earache My Eye

Disc 3
Oddities
Twin Tower
Jerry Garcia’s Finger
Ghostmotorfinger
Night Surf
A Splice Of Space Jam
The Telephantasm
Black Days III
Karaoke
Fopp (f*cked Up Heavy Dub Mix)
Big Dumb Sex (Dub Version)
Spoonman (Steve Fisk Remix)
Rhinosaur (The Straw That Broke The Rhino’s Back Remix)
Dusty (Moby Remix)
The Telephantasm (Steve Fisk 2014 Remix)
One Minute Of Silence

I'm not super into Soundgarden, though I appreciate them a bit more than I did when they were kicking around in the 90s. I've particularly come to enjoy their pre-Badmotorfinger albums.

I would, however, be interested to hear a bunch of those covers...I assume "Earache My Eye" is them re-doing in some capacity the Cheech and Chong bit. I would hope it's all the dialog too, and not just the song that goes with it?

ZombieHavoc wrote:

I would, however, be interested to hear a bunch of those covers...I assume "Earache My Eye" is them re-doing in some capacity the Cheech and Chong bit. I would hope it's all the dialog too, and not just the song that goes with it?

Yea, I'm mostly interested in that disc as well, although the whole package seems pretty cool. I wish more bands would do this sort of thing. Also, I'm assuming that 'Big Bottom' is a Spinal Tap cover. Neat-o!!

When I saw Soundgarden on the Louder Than Love tour they performed both Earache My Eye and Big Bottom during their set.

S.D. wrote:

When I saw Soundgarden on the Louder Than Love tour they performed both Earache My Eye and Big Bottom during their set.  

I don't suppose they pulled out 3 bass guitars for 'Big Bottom', did they? That woulda been hilarious!

I'm a little iffy on the set.

The Superunknown deluxe reissue is mud central for being a "remaster," and I'm a little worried they'll butcher the audio for this one as well.

Also, the Amazon pre-order for this thing is just under $60, which seems more than excessive for a three disc set of rarities. Put it out for $40-$45 and we'll talk, but even that would be the high end for me - especially given my concerns about the sonic quality.

Damn shame too, because there was a time I would have killed for rare Soundgarden material.

Quote :

Also, the Amazon pre-order for this thing is just under $60, which seems more than excessive for a three disc set of rarities. Put it out for $40-$45 and we'll talk

I suspect that price will come down as we get closer to the holidays ("Makes a great stocking stuffer!!"). Plus, it's Soundgarden, so they should get a pretty wide distribution through the few remaining big box stores that still carry cds like Best Buy and Walmart. They'll throw it on sale to move 'em.

And if not, I'll just tell my brother to get it for me for Christmas

I never gave this band a good listen.

Got superunknown many years ago but barely heard a song or two. I need to give these guys a chance again. But I need recommendations.

Start with Louder than Love and work your way forward. Badmotorfinger is my personal favorite, but LtL and Superunknown are truly heavy. Down on the Upside is a little lighter and more varied, but I really enjoyed it. The EPs are great too.

I've never gotten into the debut very much, however. I don't even think the band was happy with it.

Great. Thanks

I have to put my vote on Superunknown becuase it's just a monolith of great tunes. Then again, I'm biased because that was my introduction. Badmotorfinger is also good, but far less adventurous sonically to my ears. Down on the Upside had moments, but felt like it would have benefited from being shorter. I should probably give it another close listen to see if my view on it has changed over the years.

Gilbert wrote:

I never gave this band a good listen.

Got superunknown many years ago but barely heard a song or two. I need to give these guys a chance again. But I need recommendations.

I'd say go with Badmotorfinger. It's where they really started to gel and find their sound. The stuff before that isn't bad either, but maybe a bit more experimental. More punk-ish, with noise and feedback and general weirdness on some tracks.

Badmotorfinger has more commercial appeal, which to longtime fans might be a bad thing, but for someone looking for familiar, that's a good place to start.

Louder Than Love was where I started, made me a fan.

S.D. wrote:

Louder Than Love was where I started, made me a fan.  

That was actually my first Soundgarden album as well. Oddly enough, I only purchased it because of Guns n' Roses.

After they released The Spaghetti Incident, I started searching out lots of the original artists and the songs that GnR covered. One day while browsing a local used shop, I found Louder Than Love with the song 'Get on the Snake'. I wasn't a fan, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I wasn't immediately taken with the album, but I held onto it and eventually it clicked. I'd say it was Badmotorfinger that made me a fan though.

Also, I had a friend named Kevin, so the song 'Full On Kev's Mom' was always good for a laugh.

I saw the video for "Hands All Over" and was immediately taken with their sound. It was such a nice change of pace from the usual glossy & over-produced 80s, I went out and bought the album the next day.

A few months later I saw them open for Danzig, after Soundgarden's beautifully noisy and improvised set I have to say that Danzig seemed pretty silly by comparison.

Spinning Superunknown now.

Great stuff.

I used to own Superunknown back when it was first released and while I thought it was pretty decent, I eventually got rid of it and haven't missed it in my collection.

I was never a huge fan. I liked certain songs. I only have two of their albums... Badmotorfinger and Louder Than Love. I also like some of the songs on Superunknown.

Troublezone wrote:

I was never a huge fan. I liked certain songs. I only have two of their albums... Badmotorfinger and Louder Than Love. I also like some of the songs on Superunknown.

Not a big fan either. It's the only Soundgarden album i have ever owned.

Simply felt like giving it a fresh spin, while handling the barbecue and holding a cold beer in my hand .

The only Soundgarden album I really like is Badmotorfinger. I've owned a couple of others but they weren't keepers.

Fat Freddy wrote:

The only Soundgarden album I really like is Badmotorfinger. I've owned a couple of others but they weren't keepers.

Checking a few samples on YouTube. Rusty Cage is a very good track.

Good band, some great songs, but one of the most overrated from that era.

I think a lot of those "grunge" bands are overrated.  Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains...sure they each have some GREAT songs but how many of their albums do you ever actually listen to from start to finish without skipping anything.  And to me the most overrated band from that era is Nirvana; again some great songs but...

The only "Seattle band" from that era that I really like and CAN listen to a couple albums all the way through is Screaming Trees.  I think the albums "Sweet Oblivion" and "Dust" are stellar.

tohostudios wrote:

I think a lot of those "grunge" bands are overrated.  Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains...sure they each have some GREAT songs but how many of their albums do you ever actually listen to from start to finish without skipping anything.  And to me the most overrated band from that era is Nirvana; again some great songs but...

The only "Seattle band" from that era that I really like and CAN listen to a couple albums all the way through is Screaming Trees.  I think the albums "Sweet Oblivion" and "Dust" are stellar.

I love everything AIC has done. Same for the first three Pearl Jam albums. Classics, all. After that, the PJ albums start to suffer. All good, I think, but nothing great since. I also love Nirvana's stuff, though I can't say I love In Utero, I guess. But Bleach, Nevermind, and Incesticide are all fantastic.

The best so-called grunge bands are those who never had the fame: Tad, I Mother Earth, Greta, Sugartooth, far too many to name.

I love Badmotorfinger. Love it! I enjoyed early Soundgarden, but not late Soundgarden so much.
Agree that the first two Pearl Jam are essential.
Temple of the Dog is obscenely good, I suspect because it was born out of such pain.
I enjoyed the Seattle scene back then, and some of it still, but yes a lot of it is overrated
Never cared for Nirvana.